Diebold Puts Aside $18 Million for FCPA Settlement

A worker moves a Diebold Inc. automated teller machine for shipping at the company’s manufacturing plant in Greensboro, N.C.

Diebold Inc. said Thursday that it had set aside roughly $18 million for the eventual resolution of a foreign bribery investigation being conducted by U.S. authorities.

The security systems and automated-teller machine company said in August it had begun initial talks with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a probe into possible breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

On Thursday, Diebold said in its preliminary year-end results that it hadn’t yet reached an agreement with the agencies but accrued about $18 million in anticipation of an eventual resolution. The company said the final settlement could differ from its current estimate of the potential loss.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment further. Spokeswomen for the Justice Department and the SEC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Diebold disclosed in July 2010 that it was investigating payments by its Russian subsidiary that may have been in breach of the FCPA, which prohibits improper payments to foreign officials for a business advantage. At the end of October 2010, it revealed that the SEC issued a subpoena and the Justice Department requested documents.

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